'I'll make you famous': Cochrane man turns the table on laptop thief

Stu Gale at his home in Cochrane, Alta., on Wednesday January 18, 2017, turned the tables on a computer thief after one of his laptops was stolen. Leah Hennel/Postmedia Leah Hennel / Leah Hennel/Postmedia

Cochrane’s Stu Gale couldn’t believe his eyes when a notification popped up on his computer telling him someone had logged on to his recently stolen laptop.

The 51-year-old computer security and automation expert couldn’t let the opportunity to try to find out something about the apparent thief pass him by, so he attempted to remotely log on to the pilfered laptop.

And that’s when he discovered the less-than-tech-savvy suspect was logging into her Facebook account before his eyes.

Although she kept closing the pop-up window whenever he tried to log on to his missing laptop, she eventually left the room, leaving the computer logged in to her Facebook account — and Gale free rein to scour its contents.

“Eventually she went to the bathroom and I went through her profile. I went through and got her phone numbers, friends list and pictures, and while I was doing that, two (chat) conversations started,” Gale said, who noticed the machine was missing Tuesday, likely lifted from his vehicle Monday night.

“I called one of them and told her (the thief) was on a stolen laptop and told her I’d give her the opportunity to return it.”

When the woman returned, realizing that the stolen computer had been hijacked by its owner, she immediately shut it down. But Gale still left a chat message addressed to the thief and sent a text message to all her listed mobile devices.

“I said, ‘You’re on a stolen computer,’ ” Gale said.

“And then I sent a text to all her numbers saying, ‘I’ll go to the RCMP and I’ll make you famous.’ ”

Turns out Gale wasn’t joking.

Looking to turn the tables, he posted the apparent laptop looter’s pictures and phone numbers to a local Cochrane Facebook group, who began doing their own sleuthing. Soon, she’d earned enough online attention to delete her account and cancel her phone numbers.

No one from Cochrane RCMP was available Wednesday to comment on the case.

Gale said the community has been experiencing a boom in car prowlings and vehicle thefts, a troubling trend in what’s still a fairly small community.

“Two years ago in Cochrane, I wouldn’t have even thought twice about locking my car at night,” he said.

“But lately there’s been a rash of vehicle thefts and other things. It’s sad.”

While Gale doesn’t expect he’ll ever see his stolen computer again, he takes some comfort in making life a bit miserable for the person who swiped it.

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